Apparatus for pulling the end from a coil of strip



April 7, 1959 E. D. SPANGLER Y 2,

APPARATUS FOR PULLING THE END FROM A 0011. OR STRIVIP Filed Sept. 13,1956 2' Sheets-Sheet 1 //v VENTOR.

@ EARL 0. .SPANGLER, By

his Af/amey.

April 7, 1959 E. D. SPANGLER 2,880,778

APPARATUS FOR PULLING THE END FROM A COIL OR STRIP Filed Sept. 15, 19562 Sheets-Sheet 2 34 Xmfim" 34 INVENTO/i. EARL 0. .SPANGLER,

his Af/omey.

APPARATUS FOR PULLING THE END FROM A COILOF STRIP Earl-- D.- Spangler,'Gary, Ind., assignor to United States This invention'rel'ates, asindicated, to an'apparatus for opening'coils ofmetal strip. Moreparticularlyit relates to'an apparatus for opening a coil of metal strlpby 1mparting'a reversebend to the free end of its outer convolution forthepurposeof facilitating its being fed to the feed rollsof subsequentprocessing apparatus. I

The'manufactureof sheet metalcommonly involves a number of processingoperations indifferent apparatus 1 according'to the characteristics ofthe finished'product.

Processing of the strip may require, for example, a further reduction inthickness in a rolling mill, pickling for removal of scale,-coating intinning or galvanizlng lines,"- coiling in recoile'r's, and the like. Tofacilitate handling and s'torage,-the strip is wound in coil form as thefinal step of'each of'these and'similar operations and, in being'wound,"acquires a permanent curvature which'makes theproblem'of threading itthrough the feed rolls of subsequent processing apparatus ratherdiificult. In this respect the resiliency of the strip resists peelingof the outer coil convolution or at least the free end thereof and tendsto return" it 'to its coiled position. To overcome thistendency,-workmen have attempted to flatten or straighten the free? endmanually as "explained in Patent No. 2,387i38'0'to WQA. Zahutnik whichdiscloses a form of apparatus:for.reversebending .thefree end of a coil.Otherrformsof'apparatus for the same purposehave been proposed-inconjunctionwith mandrels and coil boxes of special designbut suchproposals have not been adaptable for,use:-with.existinguncoilers, andthe practice of man:v

ually straighteningtheffree endof the outer convolution I continuesn-aOnetof-"the :principal objects of this invention is to pro". 1

vide animproved iorm' of apparatus for openinga coil of rnetalss tripwhichincludes mechanism for pulling-itsfree .end.outwardlyzand'imparting a reverse bend thereto.. A further object is toprovide an apparatus of this character-which is particularly adaptablefor application to pres entlyexistinguncoiling boxes and vmandrels orother forms of coil: supports. .To these ends, the coil. openingapparatus of .this. invention provides in conjunction with a sup-.

portfona coiLtobe opened .a stationary'frameon which:

an .anchoringshoeis mounted for movement to and from...

a positio-niin clamping engagement withlthe outer convo lution ofthe.coil .ata point spaced from .its free.end.-.

Themountingior .the anchoring. shoe comprises .a slide which isactuatedbyv a fiuidpressure motor on the frame and .a gripping mechanismfor pulling the free end of the coil outwardly is supported on the slidefor movement 1 relative-thereto inza manner to be described such thatits operation is effective tobendthe end ofithe'coil about.

Figure-1 illustratesv diagrammatically :the manner in.

which. the .coilopeningpapparatus of this invention is ape p Ice2,880,778

plied to a conventionalarrangement of apparatus for processing andhandling strip;

Figure 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the coil open.

ing apparatus shown in Figure .1;

Figure 3 is an end elevation. looking from the right of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along .9.

the line IVIVof Figure2;v

invention;

Figure, 6 is a sectional'view taken substantially ialong g;

the line Vl'--VI of Figure 5; and

Figure'7 is a plan view of themounting and operating. frame forthe'igrippingdevice shown 'in Figures 5 and 6'.

Figure 1 illustrates diagrammatically thegmanner. in which metalstrip'is fed'through pinch'rolls 1 to a rollingi f mill'2 from a coil Cwhich'is 'rotatably supported on a coil box'S. Coils .C of metal stripare supplied by .anendless' conveyor 4 and are transported to the coilbox. 3 through a station S at which they are opened rbyihavinga'reversebend formed in the free ends Xof their outer' convolutions in amanner to be described. The station S is comprised of a coil supportingcradle in the form "of a pair of motor driven'blocker rolls 5 and thecoil opening 1 The blocker rolls 5 may have a fixed mounting relative tothe coil openingapparatus 6 or may be part of a carriage for deliveringcoils C from the conveyor 4 to' the coil box 3. While the coil openingapparatus 6 of this invention is shown in conjunc tion with blockerrolls 5, it will be understood that the apparatus 6 may'be'provided as apermanent adjunct-of apparatus 6 of this invention.

a coil box 3 Gran uncoilingmandrel.

As best shown in Figure'2, the blocker rolls 5 occupy:spacedparallelpositions and cradle a coil C for rotationthereon with itsaxis extending horizontally and arranged in a vertical plane-which-ispositioned centrally of the blocker rolls 5. Since the blocker rolls 5have a motor drive (not shown) theycan be operated to rotate thecoil-i"C to a position with its free end X arranged relatively to an anchoringshoe 7 as shown in Figure 2. The anchoring shoe 7 forms a part of thecoil opening apparatus 6 andis adapted to have'clamping engagement-withthe outer-convolution of the coil C along a line spaced -in- Wardly fromits free end X and lying in the vertical diametral plane of the coil C.The shoe 7 is supported in a manner to be described for verticalmovement from-its retracted position as shown in Figure 3 to a positionin clamping engagement with the outer convolution of a'coil C as shownin Figure 2. In this respect, the solid lin'esin Figure 2 show theoperative clamping position'of theshoe' 7 with respect to a coil of themaximum diameterrwhichfli can be. handled by the'apparatus and thebrokenlines show the positionwhich it will occupy when moved to "'J'clamping engagementwith a coil of smaller diameter.

The shoe-7 is mounted for vertical movement by a carriage,-designated asa whole by the numeral 8, on a supporting framework 9 which extendsaxially ofand. is arrangedsymmetrically'with respect to'the rocker.rolls 5 I as best shown in-Fig'ures 2 and 3. Movement of the car-. riage8 is guided by vertically extending slides 10 which are connected attheir lower ends with opposite ends of the shoe7 and have their upperends secured to the carriage sides 11. Theslides 10 have a guidedsupport,in....

slotted trackways 12 projecting from opposite sidesof a cylinder 13 (seeFigure 4) of a fluid pressuremotorld.-- The upperend of the. .motor14 issecured/to thetramew work 9 ina positionwiththeaxis of itsicylinder131ex;,..

tending vertically andzcentrallypf the space betweenwthe blocker rollsv5. A piston "IOdr-IS projectsv :fromthelower end of the cylinder-'13and: has aconnectionxat116.:withthe Patented Apr. 7, 19.59

shoe'7 for imparting vertical movement to it and to the carriage 8.

A vacuum operated strip gripping and pulling device, designated as awhole by the numeral 20, is mounted on the carriage 8 both for movementtherewith and for movement relative thereto. Its mounting on thecarriage 8 comprises a U-shaped frame 21 which has side arms 22 withpivot connections 23 to the carriage 8 at opposite ends of the grippingshoe 7. A pivot 24 connects the gripping device 20 with a mounting part25 secured to the underside of the frame 21. The pivotal position of theframe 21 and the gripping device 20 carried thereby relative to thecarriage 8 is controlled by a fluid pressure motor 27 which completesthe mounting of the device 20 on the frame 8. The motor 27 has trunnions28 projecting from opposite sides thereof which are rotatably supportedin arms 29 extending from the sides 11 of the carriage 8 as best shownin Figure 4 to provide a rocking suppolt for the motor 27 on thecarriage 8. The motor 27 actuates a piston rod 31 which has its lowerend connected by a pivot 32 to a pair of mounting lugs 34 on the frame21. The rod 31 normally occupies an extended position shown in Figure 2with the device 20 arranged relative to the shoe 7 for grippingengagement with the strip end X when the shoe 7 is moved into clampingengagement therewith.

The gripping device 20 is a vacuum or suction operated mechanism whichhas a preferred construction as shown in Figures and 6. It comprises arectangular center plate 35 which is provided with a rubber flange 36about its periphery and a clamp 37 for securing the flange 36 againstthe plate 35. The flange 36 has a downwardly turned lip 38 around itsouter edge for sealing engagement with the surface of the strip to bepulled thereby. An opening 39 in the plate 35 is connected with aconduit 40 (see Figure 2) for applying vacuum to the gripping device 20.Mounting lugs 41 projecting upwardly from the plate 35 have openings 42for the reception of the ends of the pivot pin 24 which connects thedevice 20 to the frame 21 and thereby to the carriage 8. While a vacuumoperated gripping and pulling device 20 has been shown in the drawings,it will be understood that one which is electromagnetically operated maybe substituted if desired.

The operation of the apparatus is controlled by the motors 14 and 27which are conventional double acting fluid pressure motors of theexpansible chamber type and have the usual reversing control valves foreffecting actuation of their piston rods between retracted and extendedpositions. In the normal condition of the apparatus 6, the motor 14holds its piston rod 15 and the shoe 7 in the retracted position shownin Figure 3, and the motor 27 holds its rod 31 and the gripping device20 in the extended position relative to the shoe 7 as shown in Figure 2.After emplacement of a coil C in the cradle rocker rolls 5 with its freeend X located as shown in Figure 2, the motor 14 is operated to lowerthe carriage 8. This move ment of the carriage 8 moves the shoe 7 intoclamping engagement with the outer coil convolution which is thus heldtightly against the body of the coil C. At the same time, the device 20moves into engagement with the free end X of the strip and grips it whenvacuum is applied through the conduit 40 under the control of suitablevalve mechanism (not shown). While the shoe 7 is held clamped againstthe outer convolution of the coil C, the gripping device 20 is movedoutwardly to bend the end X about the shoe 7. This is effected byoperating the motor 27 to move its rod 31 to retracted position and pullthe device 20 outwardly by pivoting the frame 21 relative to thecarriage 8. This results in movement of the parts of the apparatus 6 tothe relative positions shown in Figure 1 and pulls the free end X of thestrip outwardly from the body of the coil C. The vacuum connection tothe device 20 through the conduit 40 is then interrupted to loosen itsgripping engagement with the strip end X and the motors 14 and 27 arethen operated to return the parts of the apparatus 6 to the relativepositions shown in Figure 2 for another coil opening operation. Sincethe end X is bent about the shoe 7 upon movement of the gripping devicerelative thereto to the position shown in Figure 1, a reverse bend isformed in the end X at its point of engagement with the shoe 7 which iseffective to hold the end X outwardly from the coil after it is releasedfrom engagement by the parts 7 and 20. This of course facilitatesthreading the end X through the pinch or feed rolls 1 for a rolling mill2 or other strip processing apparatus.

While one embodiment of my invention has been shown and described itwill be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be madewithout departing from the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for opening a coil of metal strip comprising a support,a carriage having a slide mounting on said support for movement relativethereto, an anchoring shoe secured to said carriage for movementtherewith to a position in which it has clamping engagement with theouter convolution of said coil at a point spaced from its free end, afluid pressure motor mounted on said support for moving said carriage tosaid position and holding it against movement therefrom, a frame, apivot connecting said frame to said carriage for movement relativethereto, means mounted on said frame at a point spaced from said pivotfor gripping engagement with said coil free end, and a fluid pressuremotor having a pivotal support on said carriage and a connection Withsaid frame for pivoting said frame to pull the free end of said coilengaged by said gripping means outwardly to bend it about said shoe.

2. An apparatus for opening coils of sheet metal strip comprising acradle for supporting a coil to be opened in a position with its axisextending horizontally, a supporting framework arranged over said cradleand the coil thereon, a fluid pressure motor having a cylinder securedto said framework with its axis extending vertically and normal to theaxis of said cylinder, slide trackways secured to opposite sides of saidcylinder, a carriage including verticaly extending slides arranged insaid trackways for guiding its movement relative to said cylinder, ananchoring shoe on said carriage for clamping engagement with the outerconvolution of said coil along a line extending axially thereof andspaced inwardly from its free end, a piston rod actuated by said motorand connected with said carriage for moving it to and from a position inwhich said shoe has clamping engagement with said coil, a U- shapedframe having arms with pivotal connections at their outer ends to saidcarriage, a gripping means on said frame at a point spaced from saidpivotal connections for gripping engagement with the outer convolutionof said coil at a point between its free end and the said line ofclamping engagement by said shoe, and means for pivoting said framerelative to said shoe comprising a piston rod having a pivotalconnection with the outer end of said frame, and a fluid pressure motorfor actuating said last-named rod including a cylinder having a trunnionsupport on said carriage for rocking movement about an axis parallel tothe axis of said frame pivotal connections.

3. An apparatus for opening a coil of metal strip comprising a support,a carriage mounted on said support for movement relative thereto, ananchoring shoe secured to said carriage for movement therewith to aposition in which it has clamping engagement with the outer convolutionof said coil at a point spaced from its free end, motor means mounted onsaid support for moving said carriage to and holding it in saidposition, a frame, means connecting said frame to said carriage formovement relative thereto, means mounted on said frame at a point spacedfrom said connecting means for gripping engagement with said coil freeend, and motor means mounted on said carriage for movement relativethereto and hav- 5 ing a connection with said frame for moving saidframe 2,266,067 to pull the free end of said coil engaged by saidgripping 2,494,399 means outwardly to bend it about said shoe.

References Cited in the file of this patent 5 878,03 5

UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,872,045 Smitmans Aug. 16, 1932 6 Nyberg Dec. 16,1941. McCleary Jan. 10, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany May 28, 1953

